St Louis Rams: Rams Must Play All Home Games in STL, London Games in Jeopardy

According to a breaking report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) says that the St. Louis Rams are required to play all home games in the Edward Jones Dome, according to the 1995 lease.  

And that's problematic because the Rams are scheduled to play one "home" game in London per season through the next three years.

While the CVC acknowledged that the London games could indeed "elevate an awareness of St. Louis on a global stage," they maintained that "our lease with the Rams requires that the Rams play all their home games in the Edward Jones Dome."

According to the report, the CVC brought this issue to the Rams immediately after the announcement that the Rams would play three home games in London from 2012-2014.  

Coincidentally or not, the Rams could leave St. Louis after the 2014 season if an agreeable resolution between the Rams and the CVC is not reached.  

The lease states that the Rams are required "to play all its home NFL Games (other than pre-season NFL Games) at the Facilities."

Further details as to the motives of the CVC regarding this stance are sure to eventually follow, however, the precise reason or reasons for taking this position have yet to be clearly expressed.

It has been a whirlwind 2012 thus far for the Rams and their fans. 

First, head coach Steve Spagnuolo was fired on Jan. 2.  Secondly, a veteran head coach was eventually signed to coach the Rams. 

Then, the Rams announced they would be playing in London once annually from 2012 through 2014.  The Rams immediately addressed the obvious concerns. 

Soon after, it was reported that Rams owner Stan Kroenke was considering a bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Forbes has reported that he did indeed bid, but that hasn't been confirmed. 

Finally, we have today's announcement that the CVC does not intend to play softball regarding the aforementioned London games and thus, the upcoming lease negotiations.

My head is still spinning and it will take a couple days for any of us to get any kind of a grasp on where things stand.  

One thing has now become all too obvious, however, and that is this: Neither side is going to play nice.  

The gloves have indeed been removed with this announcement.  

After months of almost morbid silence from both the CVC and Kroenke, it appears that the tone has now been set going forward. 

On Feb. 1, the CVC's proposal to upgrade the dome is due to the Rams.  The Rams will almost certainly reject the initial proposal by or before the March 1 deadline to accept or reject it.  

If indeed rejected, the Rams have until May 1 to counteroffer.  

The CVC must agree to the counteroffer and show how they will pay for the Rams requested provisions by June 1 or the issue will head to arbitration.  

The two sides would then be expected to meet in arbitration for several months before a likely ruling by the end of the year.  

If a resolution were not then reached, the Rams would be free to leave St. Louis after the 2014 season, or perhaps maintain a year-to-year lease a la the San Diego Chargers.

Initially, it would seem that this is the CVC's way of building leverage regarding the upcoming negotiations.  

This new information makes the initial Feb. 1 proposal all the more interesting. 

The almost daily drama-filled soap opera, amazing enough as it is, is set to only grow more intriguing in the days, weeks and months ahead. 

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.